第十一章 | 爱酷英语|iCoolEN

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

RECKONINGS

第十一章

清算

While an army can accomplish more than one man, there are times when an individual can achieve that which a legion cannot.

while: 虽然 accomplish: 做到 individual: 个人 achieve: 完成 legion: 军团

虽然一支军队能做到的比一个人要多，但有时一个人只身却能做到一支军队所做不到的事。

—Tobarius of Kehjistan, Philosophies

philosophy: 哲理

——Kehjistan的Tobarius《哲思》

Siggard strode through the night, his hand resting on Guthbreoht’s hilt under his black cloak.

stride: 大步走 resting: 搁置的 hilt: 柄 cloak: 斗篷

夜里，Siggard大步走着，手紧握住藏在他黑色斗篷下的Guthbreoht的剑柄上。

He was careful not to walk too fast, lest he attract unwanted attention from the castle of Brennor.

lest: 以免 attract: 引起 unwanted: 不必要的 attention: 注意 castle: 城堡

他小心的中速前进，以免吸引Brennor城堡里瞭望哨的注意，他可不希望被发现。

The refugees had left around midday, Earl Tilgar giving Siggard explicit instructions of where they would be going, and to find them if he survived.

refugee: 难民 midday: 正午 earl: 伯爵 explicit: 详述的 instruction: 说明 survive: 生还

正午时分逃难的人群就已经离开，Tilgar伯爵向他讲明了他们要去的地方，告诉他如果能活下来就去找他们。

Sarnakyle had offered to help, but Siggard had refused.

offer: 提供 refuse: 拒绝

Sarnakyel曾提出要帮助他，但Siggard拒绝了。

The last thing he wanted to do was endanger the wizard’s life, particularly when Earl Tilgar would have a far greater need of magic protection than he.

endanger: 危及 wizard: 法师 particularly: 尤其 earl: 伯爵 magic: 魔法 protection: 保护

他不愿让法师的生命受到威胁，特别是在Tilgar伯爵更需要法术保护的时候。

After the refugees had departed, Siggard had cleaned the caked blood and gore from his sword and mail-coat, checking both for rust.

refugee: 难民 depart: 启程 caked: 结块的 gore: 污血 mail-coat: 铠甲 rust: 生锈

逃难的人群动身后，Siggard清理了剑和铠甲上的血痂以防其生锈。

He had oiled the sword, and blackened the mail with coal, removing as much of the shine as he could. Then he had waited for sunset.

oil: 涂油 blackened: 涂黑 mail: 铠甲 coal: 煤炭 removing: 消除 shine: 发亮 sunset:日落

他给剑上了油，又用炭涂黑了盔甲，尽可能使其不再反光。然后他歇下来等待日落。

Siggard finally reached what was left of the gates of Brennor. The wall truly had crumbled, and the air reeked of death.

gate: 城门 crumble: 崩溃 air: 空气 reek: 充满 death: 死亡

Siggard终于走到了Brennor城门的遗迹前。城墙被彻底摧毁了，空气中弥漫着死亡的气息。

From the faint light of the castle windows, he made out bodies lying throughout the rubble. No doubt the crows and carrion eaters had eaten their fill during the day.

faint: 微弱的 castle: 城堡 made out: 看出 body: 尸体 throughout: 遍及 rubble: 瓦砾 doubt: 怀疑 crow: 乌鸦 carrion: 腐肉的 carrion eater: 食腐者

借着城堡窗中透出的微光，他看到碎石瓦砾间都是残尸。毫无疑问尸体在白天已经被乌鸦和食尸鬼啃食过了。

He made sure his cowl properly covered his face, and began to walk through the town.

make sure: 弄明白 cowl: 兜帽 properly: 严密的 cover: 遮盖 walk through: 穿过

他确认了一下兜帽是否已经遮住了他的脸，然后便走进了城里。

Most of the buildings he passed were scarred and hollowed out from the last of the fighting, and the corpses of guardsmen lay sprawled over the street.

building: 建筑物 scarred: 有疤痕的 hollow: 中空的 corpse: 尸体 guardsmen: 卫兵 sprawl: 躺卧

他所经过的大部分房屋已因最后那场战斗而残破不堪，守卫们横尸街头。

He slowly picked his way across the carnage, careful not to disturb anything.

carnage: 积尸 disturb: 惊动

他小心的穿过堆积的尸体，不去惊动任何东西。

A flickering fire caught his attention, and he stepped back into the shadows. Two of the goat creatures passed by, one carrying a torch, the other a severed head.

flickering: 摇曳的 attention: 注意 step back: 退后 goat: 山羊 creature: 生物 torch:火把 severed: 切断的

闪烁的火光吸引了他的注意，他退回阴影中。两个山羊怪从他身边走过，一个举着火把，另一个手里拿着一颗头颅。

As they passed, Guthbreoht’s song became insistent, but Siggard held back. “Soon,” he whispered. “Soon there will be vengeance.”

insistent: 迫切的 hold back: 抑制 whisper: 低语 vengeance: 复仇

它们经过时Guthbreoht的歌声愈发强烈，但Siggard压制住了它。“快了，”他轻声说，“我们很快就要开始复仇了。”

He waited for another moment, and then took to the street again, carefully keeping in the darkness.

take to the street: 走上街道 darkness: 阴影

他又等了一会儿，然后重新踏上了街道，小心翼翼的在阴影中前行。

He was certain that there would be guards at the castle door, but an idea was beginning to form in his mind.

certain: 确定的 guard: 守卫 castle: 城堡 beginning: 刚出现的

他确信城堡门口会有守卫，一个想法在他脑中成形。

A vision of Tylwulf returned to the forefront of his memory, and he smiled grimly. The traitor would be helpful, after all.

vision: 幻象 forefront: 最前方 memory: 记忆 grimly: 冷酷地 traitor: 叛徒 after all: 终究

他首先记起了Tylwulf，他冷笑了一下。这个叛徒多少还有点用。

But he still had to get into the castle.

have to: 必须 castle: 城堡

但他还是得进入城堡。

He wound his way through the rubble of the town, sliding again into the shadows as he came to a campfire in the middle of one of the town squares.

wind: 迂回前行 rubble: 瓦砾 sliding: 移动 campfire: 篝火 square: 广场

他在破败不堪的城中穿行着，当靠近广场上的那堆营火时他再次闪进了阴影中。

Several demons sat by the blaze, chortling and speaking in some guttural tongue. One of them held up a severed human arm and gnawed on the flesh.

blaze: 火焰 chortling: 开心地笑 guttural: 沙哑的 tongue: 语言 hold up: 举起 severed:切断的 arm: 手臂 gnaw: 啃 flesh: 肉

几个恶魔坐在火焰周围，声音沙哑的有说有笑。其中一个拿起一条人的胳膊，吃着上面的肉。

Siggard forced down a wave of nausea and turned aside, slipping farther into the darkness. The reckoning would come soon enough.

force down: 压下 wave: 起伏 nausea: 反胃 slip: 移动 reckoning: 清算 come soon:很快来到

Siggard强忍住心中的厌恶转向一旁，躲进了离它们更远一些的阴影之中，清算即将开始。

He wrapped his cloak tighter about him and began to wind his way around the group at the fire, hoping he wouldn’t attract their attention.

wrap: 包裹 cloak: 斗篷 tighter: 紧紧地 wind: 迂回前行 attract: 引起 attention: 注意

他裹紧了斗篷，绕开篝火旁的那队怪物，希望不要吸引它们的注意。

Finally, the fire lay in the distance, and he walked onward through the maze of crumbling streets, keeping the castle firmly in sight.

distance: 距离 onward: 前进的 maze: 迷宫 crumble: 瓦砾遍布的 castle: 城堡 firmly:牢牢地 sight: 视野

最后，他和篝火保持着一定距离走在在迷宫般的废墟中，始终让城堡处在自己的视线内。

Before he could react, one of the dog creatures rounded the corner ahead of him. The creature rose to its full height of four feet and glared.

react: 反应 creature: 生物 round: 绕行 corner: 角落 ahead: 在前面 rise: 起立 height: 身高 glare: 瞪眼

他还没反应过来，一只狗一样的怪物绕到他的面前。那怪物四腿直竖的站着，对他怒目而视。

“What you want?” it demanded.

demand: 盘问

“你想干嘛？”它问。

“Go away,” Siggard growled, standing perfectly still.

growl: 吼 perfectly: 完全地 still: 安静的

“滚，”Siggard吼道，他仍平静的站着。

“You tell me what you want or me call guards!” the creature shrilled. “Now what you want?”

guard: 守卫 shrill: 尖声说

“告诉我你想干嘛，或者我叫卫兵！”那怪物尖叫道，“现在快说你想干嘛？”

“I’ve come to serve lord Assur,” Siggard answered gruffly. “Now are you going to get out of my way, or am I going to have to hurt you?”

gruffly: 粗暴地 get out of: 走开 hurt: 伤害

“我是来侍奉亚述尔大人的，”Siggard硬生生答道，“你是自己走开，还是让我修理你？”

“You come with me,” the dog-man said. “Me take you to others.”

dog-man: 狗人

“跟我来，”狗人说，“我带你去其他人。”

Siggard rolled his eyes theatrically. “Very well.”

roll: 滚动 theatrically: 夸张地

Siggard夸张的转动眼睛。“太好了。”

“Baron Assur need many men,” the creature rambled, leading him to the castle door. “He need to call more demons, need more power. You give body, you give soul, you give power!”

creature: 生物 ramble: 闲谈 lead: 带领 castle: 城堡 demon: 恶魔 soul: 灵魂

“亚述尔男爵需要许多人，”怪物领着他慢慢向城堡大门走去。“他需要召唤更多恶魔，需要更强大力量。你交出身体，交出灵魂，交出力量！”

The door appeared unguarded, but as they approached, two Hiddens emerged from the darkness, one on each side of the way.

appear: 显得 unguarded: 没有守卫的 approach: 靠近 Hidden: 潜伏者 emerge: 出现

大门看起来没有守卫，但当他们接近时，两个潜伏者从黑暗中现身，它们各把守一边。

The dog-man spoke a few words, and they moved aside. Siggard followed the creature into the castle courtyard, taking careful note of where the Hiddens had placed themselves.

creature: 生物 castle: 城堡 courtyard: 庭院 note: 注意 Hidden: 潜伏者 place: 安置

狗人说了几句，它们便退到一旁。Siggard跟着怪物进入了庭院，仔细观察哪里有潜伏者看守。

“You serve Baron Assur well!” the demon crooned, leading him past another pair of dog-men guarding the entrance to the keep. “You give him good soul!”

baron: 男爵 demon: 恶魔 croon: 低吟 dog-men: 狗人 guarding: 守卫的 entrance: 入口 keep: 城堡主楼 soul: 灵魂

“你侍奉亚述尔男爵好！”恶魔说着，领着他通过守在塔楼入口的一对狗人卫兵。“把你好灵魂给他！”

Siggard tried to ignore the creature’s demented grumblings as he followed it through the passageways. As he walked, his hand flexed on Guthbreoht’s leather hilt.

ignore: 忽视 creature: 生物 demented: 发狂的 grumble: 咕哝 passageway: 走廊 flex:收缩 leather: 皮革包覆的 hilt: 柄

Siggard跟着这个怪物走着，尽量不去理会它发狂的聒噪。他的手紧紧的握住了Guthbreoht的皮质剑柄。

“Where is Lord Assur?” Siggard demanded.

demand: 询问

“亚述尔大人在哪？”Siggard问。

“He in room with many maps,” the dog-man said. “You no go there. Overseer take care of you.”

map: 地图 dog-man: 狗人 Overseer: 监督

“他在有很多地图的屋子里。”狗人说，“你不去那。监工照看你。”

Siggard stopped and looked down the corridor. It was empty on both sides, as far as the eye could see.

look down: 俯视 corridor: 走廊

Siggard停下看了看走廊。在他视力所及之处，两旁空无一人。

“Why you stopping?! You follow me!”

“你为什么停？你跟我！”

Siggard smiled coldly and struck. Guthbreoht flashed in the darkness as he drew and slashed in a single stroke, sending the dog-man’s head thudding against the wall.

coldly: 冷酷的 strike: 攻击 flash: 闪烁 draw: 拔出 slash: 砍 dog-man: 狗人 thudding: 砰然落下 against: 撞到

Siggard冷笑着发起了攻击。Guthbreoht在黑暗中闪着光，他拔剑猛的一砍，狗人的脑袋飞了出去，狠狠的撞在墙上掉了下来。

Siggard began to walk purposefully down the corridor, hiding his sword under his cloak. He knew exactly where the war room was from here.

purposefully: 坚定的 corridor: 走廊 hiding: 隐藏 cloak: 斗篷 exactly: 确切地 war room: 作战室

Siggard自信的沿着走廊走下去，将剑在斗篷里藏好。他很清楚作战室在哪。

He made his way through the corridor, passing several demons who appeared to think that since he had gotten in, he must have some legitimate business.

corridor: 走廊 demon: 恶魔 appear: 看上去好像 get in: 进去 legitimate: 正当的 business: 事务

他穿过走廊，经过几个以为他有要紧事要办的恶魔。

He smiled inwardly as he came to the door of the war room, a red light flowing from the crack between the hinges. It was seemingly unguarded, but Siggard knew better.

inwardly: 内心地 war room: 作战室 crack: 裂缝 hinge: 铰链 seemingly: 表面上 unguarded: 没有守卫的 better: 更多的

当他走到作战室大门前时他暗暗一笑。红光从门缝中透出，这里看来没有守卫，但Siggard还是看出了破绽。

As quickly as he could, he slashed the air with his sword, and the heads of two Hiddens fell to the ground, the bodies appearing and crumpling shortly afterwards.

slash: 砍 sword: 剑 Hidden: 潜伏者 appear: 显现 crumpling: 崩溃 afterward: 后来

他以迅雷不及掩耳之势挥剑向空气砍去，两个潜伏者的脑袋落在了地上，它们的身体渐渐现形，很快化为了灰烬。

He looked around again to ensure that there were no other demons in sight, and then opened the door and stepped in.

look around: 环顾四周 ensure: 确定 demon: 恶魔 sight: 视野 step in: 走进

他向四周望了望以确定视线范围内没有恶魔，随后便开门跨了进去。

The huge form of Assur loomed before him, but the archdemon’s back was turned.

huge: 巨大的 loom: 身影 archdemon: 大恶魔

亚述尔巨大的身形出现在他的面前，只是恶魔头目是背对着他的。

A second shadowy thing turned toward him, however, as if realizing he was not possessed, and charged, talons outstretched.

shadowy: 像阴影的 realize: 察觉 possess: 控制 charge: 攻击 talons: 爪子 outstretched: 伸长的

一个阴影一样的东西转向他，似乎已经察觉到他并没有受到恶魔的控制，伸出了利爪准备攻击。

As lithe as a cat, Siggard disemboweled the monster, and the creature faded, screaming in agony. Guthbreoht’s song began to grow in strength.

lithe: 敏捷的 disembowel: 开膛 monster: 怪物 fade: 消失 screaming: 尖叫的 agony:痛苦 strength: 强度

Siggard灵巧如猫的切开了怪物的腹部，它哀嚎着消散了。Guthbreoht的歌声渐渐有力了起来。

Assur turned, fixing Siggard with angry black eyes. The archdemon drew a giant sword of his own from a sheath at the side of his loincloth.

fixing: 注视 angry: 愤怒的 archdemon: 大恶魔 draw: 拔出 giant: 巨大的 sheath: 剑鞘 loincloth: 缠腰布

亚述尔转过身，黑色的眼睛怒视着Siggard。恶魔头目从系在缠腰布上的剑鞘中拔出了他自己的巨剑。

“You are foolish, mortal,” Assur rumbled. “No weapon wielded by the living can harm me, not even a sword of Velund.”

foolish: 愚蠢的 mortal: 凡人 rumble: 低沉地说 wield: 使用 living: 有生命的 harm: 伤害

“人类，你这个蠢货，”亚述尔吼着，“任何生者都无法用武器伤到我，即使拿的是Velund的剑也不行。”

Siggard held up Guthbreoht and began to speak, every word filling him with rage.

hold up: 举起 filling: 充满 rage: 愤怒

Siggard举起了Guthbreoht，带着满腔愤怒说道。

“I am Siggard of Bear’s Hill, whose family and village you slaughtered.

family: 家庭 village: 村庄 slaughtered: 被屠戮的

“我是Bear's Hill的Siggard，我的村庄与家庭受到了你的屠戮。

Know now that I died inside the day my wife did, and my soul is empty of all but a lust for revenge. I will have my vengeance upon you, for you fight a dead man this day!”

soul: 灵魂 lust: 渴望 revenge: 复仇 vengeance: 报仇

在我妻子死去的那天，我的心就已经死了，我已没有了灵魂，只剩下了复仇之欲。今天我要找你报仇，你将挑战一个已死之人！”

Siggard roared in fury and attacked, his assault pushing the demon back. The two swords clashed with incredible speed, crying out with a ringing of tormented steel.

roar: 咆哮 fury: 愤怒 assault: 攻击 demon: 恶魔 clash: 撞击 incredible: 难以置信的 speed: 速率 cry: 呼喊 ringing: 响声 torment: 痛苦 steel: 剑

Siggard怒吼着冲上去发起了进攻，他的攻击迫使恶魔向后退了几步。两把剑撞击的频率快的叫人难以置信，发出的金属碰撞之声仿佛是剑痛苦的尖叫。

Assur’s face was a mask of amusement, but it quickly turned to anger as the onslaught continued.

amusement: 消遣 anger: 发怒 onslaught: 猛攻

亚述尔开始时脸上还是不屑的表情，但随着战斗的继续他很快便恼怒起来。

“Die in truth, mortal!” Assur bellowed, counterattacking. He raised his blade and brought it down with all his might, Siggard barely blocking the deadly stroke.

mortal: 凡人 bellow: 怒吼 counterattacking: 反击 raise: 举起 might: 力量 barely: 勉强 blocking: 挡住 deadly: 致命的 strike: 打击

“死去吧，人类！”他大声吼道，向Siggard发起了反击。他举剑尽全身之力向下劈去，Siggard勉强挡住了这致命一击。

He thrust forward, forcing Siggard to dive out of the way. Snarling, Assur rounded on him, attacking again.

thrust: 猛刺 force: 迫使 dive: 跳 snarling: 吼叫 round on: 转身攻击

他又挥剑前刺，逼得Siggard跳到一旁。亚述尔咆哮着，怒气冲天，再一次发起了进攻。

The power of the blows drove Siggard back, every parry numbing his arm until he thought that it would take superhuman strength to defeat the demon.

blow: 打击 drive: 迫使 parry: 挡开 numbing: 使麻木的 arm: 手臂 superhuman: 超人的 strength: 力量 defeat: 击败

Siggard被亚述尔的攻势逼得节节后退，每次格挡都使他手臂愈发酸麻，他感到除非有超人之力才能抵挡住恶魔的进攻。

Then Guthbreoht’s song filled his spirit, and Siggard began to laugh. With an ancient battle cry, he lunged forward, striking the sword from Assur’s hand.

fill: 充满 spirit: 灵魂 laugh: 大笑 ancient: 远古的 battle: 战斗 cry: 呼喊 lunge: 猛冲 striking: 攻击的

Guthbreoht的歌声很快便充满了他的灵魂，Siggard开始狂笑。随着一声远古的战斗吼叫，他向前冲去，击中了亚述尔手中的剑。

As the demon recoiled in shock, Siggard thrust, impaling the glyph and driving the steel deep into the monster’s flesh.

recoil: 退却 shock: 震惊 thrust: 猛刺 impaling: 刺穿 glyph: 符号 driving: 驱使 steel:剑 deep into: 深入 monster: 怪物 flesh: 躯体

他趁恶魔受惊后退之时，大步向前将剑深深的插入了图腾之中，刺穿了怪物的肉身。

Assur screamed, a cry of rage, fear, and pain.

scream: 尖叫 cry: 呼喊 rage: 愤怒 fear: 恐惧 pain: 痛苦

亚述尔嚎叫着，叫声中充满了愤怒，惊恐与痛苦。

Blood poured from the wound as Siggard wrenched his sword, bringing the archdemon to its knees. With a cruel yank, Siggard freed his blade.

pour: 流出 wound: 伤口 wrench: 猛扭 archdemon: 大恶魔 knee: 跪下 cruel: 残忍的 yank: 猛拔

Siggard扭转剑刃，血从伤口中喷涌而出，恶魔头目跪倒在地。Siggard猛然用力将剑拔出。

“Now it is over,” he said, and with a great sweeping blow struck Assur’s head off. It flew across the room, thudding against the wall and falling to the floor.

sweeping: 扫 blow: 打击 strike off: 砍掉 thudding: 砰然落地 against: 撞到 fall to: 落于

“现在一切都结束了。”他说着，用力挥剑砍下了亚述尔的头颅。它飞到了屋子另一头，“砰”的一声撞在墙上滚落地面。

As Siggard watched, the demonic face melted into the visage of a middle-aged man, a look of horror painted across his face.

demonic: 恶魔的 melt: 逐渐消失 visage: 面容 middle-aged: 中年的 horror: 恐惧 paint: 描绘着

Siggard看到恶魔的脸扭曲着变回了一个中年男子的面孔，那张脸上写满了恐惧。

Siggard turned to the body to watch it topple to the ground. Silently, it changed into a human corpse in tattered robes.

body: 尸体 topple: 跌倒 silently: 寂静地 corpse: 尸体 tattered: 衣衫褴褛的 robe: 长袍

Siggard转身望着尸体，它摔在地上，无声的变回了一具衣衫褴褛的人类身体。

He walked from the war room and strode down the corridors, exhausted.

war room: 作战室 stride: 大步走 corridor: 走廊 exhausted: 疲惫不堪的

他迈出作战室，大步沿走廊走去。他感到精疲力尽。

A pair of demons approached him, but even as he turned they gave a shrill cry of agony and exploded into flames.

approach: 靠近 shrill: 尖锐的 cry: 呼喊 agony: 痛苦 explode: 爆炸 flame: 火焰

两个恶魔靠近，他还没来得及转身，它们就在痛苦的尖叫中爆炸了。

He stepped over to one of the windows and looked out across the ruins of the town.

step over: 跨过 window: 窗户 look out: 朝外看 ruins: 废墟

他走近一扇窗子，望着城镇的废墟。

Brennor was alive with small blazes, dancing fires running around like creatures in torment and then vanishing.

blaze: 火光 run around: 到处乱跑 creature: 生物 torment: 痛苦 vanishing: 消失

Brennor城中仍闪烁着星星点点的火焰，跳动的火苗如痛苦的怪物般闪了几下便消失了。

“You slew our master!” came a cry behind him. He spun, sword at the ready, to find a guardsmen with mad bloodshot eyes lunging at him.

slay: 杀死 cry: 呼喊 spun: 旋转 guardsmen: 守卫 mad: 发疯的 bloodshot: 充血的 lunging: 冲

“你杀了我们头儿！”他身后传来哭喊声。他急转过身，举剑欲攻。他看到一个守卫瞪着布满血丝的眼睛冲他喊着。

Siggard sidestepped casually and slashed, cutting the possessed man down. Then he continued on his way out of the castle.

sidestep: 回避 casually: 随便地 slash: 砍 cut down: 杀死 possessed: 被控制的 castle: 城堡

Siggard出其不意的跨到一旁，挥剑斩去，将那个被恶魔所控制的人砍倒。他继续向城堡外走去。

If there were still some demonic forces in the town, so be it; he had his revenge at last.

demonic: 恶魔的 force: 军队 revenge: 复仇

要是还有恶魔军队在城里，那就来吧；他心中的复仇之火还未完全平息。

Siggard sat on a hill near the crumbled walls of Brennor, watching the sunrise. He shook his head, trying to understand why he still felt empty and unfulfilled.

hill: 山丘 crumbled: 崩溃的 sunrise: 日出 shake: 摇动 empty: 空虚 unfulfilled: 没有成就感的

Siggard坐在了一座靠近Brennor城墙废墟的小丘上，望着太阳渐渐升起。他用力摇了摇头，试图弄清自己为什么觉得空虚，觉得不充实。

His family had been avenged; surely that was enough to give him some peace, wasn’t it?

avenged: 报仇 peace: 平静

他为家人报了仇，这应该足以使他平静下来了，不是吗？

And there were some other things that he had only just begun to think about.

他又想到了一些他以前没想过的事情。

Little aspects of the last few days that had been nagging him, but he hadn’t had time to consider. Horrible things, that could only lead to one terrifying conclusion.

aspect: 方面 nagging: 纠缠 consider: 考虑 horrible: 可怕的 terrifying: 恐怖的 conclusion: 结果

过去那些天里总有些事折磨着他，但他那时没时间去考虑。那些恐怖的事只会带来骇人的结果。

“You’ve done surprising well,” a familiar voice said.

surprising: 令人惊讶的 familiar: 熟悉的

“你所做的令人惊异。”传来了一个熟悉的声音。

“Tyrael,” Siggard said, raising his head to gaze upon the placid face of the gray-clad archangel. “I thought you would come.”

raise: 抬起 gaze: 注视 placid: 平和的 gray-clad: 灰衣的 archangel: 大天使

“泰瑞尔，”Siggard 说道，他抬头凝视着灰衣天使那平和的脸，“我觉得你会来。”

Tyrael nodded. “After Brennor fell and you stayed behind, I had to see what you would do. You should be proud; you’ve rid the world of a great evil.”

nod: 点头 proud: 自豪的 rid: 使…获自由 evil: 恶魔

泰瑞尔点点头。“Brennor陷落之后你留了下来，我必须知道你要做什么。你应该感到自豪；你帮助整个世界摆脱了这个强大恶魔所带来的威胁。”

Siggard tried to smile, but he found he just couldn’t feel happy.

smile: 微笑

Siggard想报以微笑，但他却怎么也高兴不起来。

“I’ve been thinking about some things. My missing days, my lack of appetite, how I was untroubled by wounds during the battle, those sorts of things.”

lack: 缺乏 appetite: 食欲 untroubled: 未被扰乱的 wound: 伤口 sort: 种类

“我在思考些事情。在我昏迷的那几天，我什么也没吃，还有经过了战斗之后我为什么一点伤也没有留下，我正在想这些。”

Tyrael sat down on a rock and pursed his lips. “And?”

purse: 抿 lip: 嘴唇

泰瑞尔坐在一块石头上，抿了抿嘴：“还有呢？”

“Assur’s glyph was absolute, wasn’t it? No living hand could slay him.”

glyph: 符号 absolute: 绝对的 living: 有生命的 slay: 杀死

“亚述尔的图腾的力量是绝对的，不是吗？没有生者能杀死他。”

“That is true.”

“不错。”

Siggard wrapped his cloak around him and tried to stave off a chill. “When did I die, then?”

wrap: 包裹 cloak: 斗篷 stave off: 挡住 chill: 寒冷

Siggard裹紧了斗篷以驱散寒意：“那么我是什么时候死的？”

“At Blackmarch,” Tyrael replied. “You were stabbed in the back by a Hidden during the last crush of the battle. The blade sheared through your mail-coat and slew you.”

reply: 回答 stabbed: 被刺中 Hidden: 潜伏者 crush: 攻击 shear: 切开 mail-coat: 盔甲 slay: 杀死

“在Blackmarch，”泰瑞尔答道，“在最后一波攻击时你被一个潜伏者刺中背部。剑锋穿过铠甲刺死了你。”

“And Heaven brought me back,” Siggard added.

heaven: 天堂 add: 附言

“天堂使我复生。”Siggard补充道。

Tyrael shook his head. “No, we didn’t. You did that all by yourself.”

shake: 摇动

泰瑞尔摇摇头。“不，我们没有这么做。你能复活全靠了你自己。”

“I don’t understand.”

“我不懂。”

Tyrael leaned forward. “Very rarely, perhaps but twice in ten millennia, there is a soul so full of life that death cannot claim it.

lean: 倾斜 rarely: 罕见地 twice: 两次 millennia: 几千 soul: 灵魂 claim: 断言

泰瑞尔向前靠了靠。“这种情况极为罕见，大概只有万分之二的几率，那种灵魂仍充满生机，甚至不能宣判其死亡。

I have seen it only once before. All I did was direct you to where you could do some good. Your timing, I am pleased to say, was excellent.”

direct: 指示 timing: 时间控制 excellent: 优秀的

这样的灵魂我以前只见到过一次。我所做的不过是指引你去做对人们有益的事情。我很高兴的告诉你，你很会把握时机。”

“Am I a ghost then, or a ghoul?”

ghost: 鬼魂 ghoul: 食尸鬼

“那么我是个鬼魂，或者是食尸鬼？”

“No,” Tyrael replied thoughtfully. “It is difficult to say what you are. Death cannot claim you, but neither can life.

reply: 回答 thoughtfully: 思考的 claim: 认领 neither: 皆不

“不。”泰瑞尔想了想，答道，“现在很难说你究竟是什么。既不能宣判你的死亡，也不能认定你尚还活着。

You are trapped in between, until you find some way to rest your incredible vitality. And then, perhaps, death will find you.”

trapped: 陷入的 rest: 安息 incredible: 难以置信的 vitality: 活力

你处在生死之间，除非你能释放你惊人的活力，也许之后死亡才会找上你。”

“I suppose now that I’ve avenged my family, I can rest,” Siggard said. “That’s the way the ghost stories go, isn’t it?”

suppose: 认为 avenged: 为…报仇 rest: 安息 ghost: 鬼魂 story: 故事

“我想现在我大仇已报，可以安息了。”Siggard说，“关于鬼魂的故事都是这种套路，不是吗？”

Tyrael shook his head sadly. “You will not find your rest through revenge, no matter how hard you try. Vengeance is an act of hatred, and hatred never brings peace.

shake: 摇动 sadly: 悲伤的 rest: 安息 revenge: 报仇 vengeance: 复仇 act: 行为 hatred: 仇恨 peace: 安宁

泰瑞尔悲伤的摇摇头。“不管你怎样努力，复仇并不能使你安息。复仇只是仇恨的一种表现形式，而仇恨将使人永不安宁。

No, if you are to discover some peace, you must do it through an act of love. I think you will find it, although it may take you centuries.”

discover: 找到 peace: 安宁 act: 行动 century: 世纪

是的，如果你想得到安宁，就应该向人们表现你的爱。我相信你能做到，尽管这也许要用几个世纪的时间。”

“Lovely,” Siggard grumbled.

lovely: 非常好 grumble: 抱怨

“非常好。”Siggard抱怨道。

“Do not feel too badly about it,” Tyrael said.

badly: 悲伤地

“不要为此太过悲伤，”泰瑞尔说。

“The way I see it, you have a choice. You can search for some act of love that will bring you peace, or wander the earth and help us in our fight against Hell.”

act: 行动 peace: 安宁 wander: 游荡 against: 对抗 Hell: 地狱

“在我看来你有一种选择。你可以通过行动向人们展示你的爱，这将给你带来安宁；或者你也可以四处漫游，帮助我们抵抗地狱的侵袭。”

The archangel leaned back and regarded Siggard warmly.

archangel: 大天使 lean: 倾斜 regard: 关心 warmly: 亲切地

大天使身体微向后倾，他关切的说。

“You have quite a gift, you know. The only hand that could possibly still your heart is your own. This was but one battle in a much larger war.

gift: 天赋 possibly: 也许 battle: 战斗

“你知道，你有极好的天赋。唯一能使你得到安宁的人是你自己。这不是一次战斗，而是一场战争。

The Prime Evils now want dominion over the mortal realms, and they will continue to seek it. You would be an ideal soldier against them.”